Please note - this information is, as an example, still in it's alpha stage and is not of something set in stone. The information comes through a reliable source via words - no official documents or pictures have been used/attained. All pictures you see here are not official, but created by myself (badly) or taken off the internet to create clarity between the words. All information here is an interpretation of Blizzard's new Hero Class design.
Blizzard's New Hero Class
The next Hero Class to grace World of Warcraft:
The Blademaster
Here's a small image taken
from WC3 to remind you folks
For more information (i.e. Lore) please visit the
Blademaster Wowwiki page.
Class Mechanic: Melee (DPS), Healing (hybrid)
Race: Horde - Orc, Alliance - Dranei (if not all races)
Allowable Equipment: Leather
Allowable Weapons: Predominantly a 2H Weapon user, though is capable of equipping 1H Weapons (though much like the DK, the class is heavily biased towards 2H weapons)
The race is speculation at this point, with the two races named above classed as likely candidates if Blizzard decide not to take it in the same direction as they did with Deathknights (all races). Another unusual point that has probably caught your eye is the fact that the Blademaster is classed as "healing" as well as "melee" - lore at this point so far is vague at best or simply unknown but we're sure Blizzard are thinking of something (it's suggested that the Blademasters close tie-in with Shamans may be the connection Blizzard will use).
Talents: Learning from their introductory Hero Class, Blizzard were delighted with their decision to make all Deathknight trees viable for Tanking as well as DPS. The same will be applied for the Blademaster class, where all three trees will be viable for Healing as well as DPS.
Class Mechanics and System
Here's the main meat and currently the most sensitive information about the new class. Just like the Deathknight class, Blizzard have been working on a completely new system that has not been seen previously in WoW. Bear with me, as this is a tad complicated to explain with mere words though conversely the system appears pretty simple.
The Blademaster itself appears to be a
very slight cross between a Rogue and a Deathknight. The healing aspect of the Blademaster (who will be called
BM henceforth) is unlike anything seen in WoW before.
Discipline
Baring only a minuscule resemblance to Warrior's Stances, the BM has 3 "Disciplines" - The Opener, The Set-up and The Finisher Disciplines. Much like Warrior Stances, certain “Discipline Moves” can only be used in certain Disciplines, however that's where the similarities end.
Disciplines can almost be described as some sort of 'Combo' System. Basically, the BM will always start a battle with their 'Opener' Discipline. The Opener will have 3 separate skills (aka “Discipline Moves”) by default. Once the BM has inflicted their 'Opener', the action bar will change to reflect 'The Set-up' Discipline (much like how a Rogue's action bar changes when they go from stealth to visible), which also contains 3 separate skills by default. Once the BM has inflicted their 'Set-Up', the action bar will change to reflect 'The Finisher' Discipline, though this time they have a choice of 4 'Finisher' skills. Upon inflicting their Finisher, the action bar reverts back to 'The Opener' Discipline. Going out of combat will always revert the BM's action bar to 'The Opener' Discipline, however changing targets mid-battle does not.
As well as the skills exclusive to said Disciplines (which are exclusively called 'Discipline Moves'), the majority of skills/abilities are
neutral, meaning they can be used in any Discipline. So to clarify the point, here's an example of how the average battle will work (using existing abilities from other classes as an example):
BM in
Opener Discipline has the choice of 3 Discipline moves:
1. Cheap Shot
2. Ambush
3. Charge
The BM chooses 1. Cheap Shot -
==> Discipline automatically changes to 'The Set-up'
BM in
Set-up Discipline has the choice of 3 Discipline moves:
1. Sinister Strike
2. Cleave
3. Hemorrhage
The BM chooses 2. Cleave -
==> Discipline automatically changes to 'The Finisher''
BM in
Finisher Discipline has the choice of 4 Discipline moves:
1. Eviscerate
2. Execute
3. Expose Armor
4. Slice n' Dice
The BM chooses 3. Expose Armor
==> Discipline automatically reverts back to 'The Opener'.
(Note: The Player is not limited to just Discipline Moves, as they have access to Neutral abilities throughout each Discipline)
The player is able to mix and match their moves and will be constantly shifting to new Disciplines during any battle. The BM is unable to skip to any Discipline they choose; they must always follow the cycle (Opener => Set-up => Finisher). The GCD for all 'Discipline moves' will be the standard 1.5 seconds, meaning it will take a BM at least 3 seconds to go from their Opener to their Finisher. Out of all the Disciplines, it's 'The Finisher' Discipline that stands out the most, which by reading the next section will explain why:
Introducing: The Sashimono System
The Sashimono is the small banner worn by all Blademasters. For more information please visit the
Sashimono Wikipedia page. It is the Sashimono that will be the main focus behind the Blademaster (much like Runes and Deathknights). Every time the BM inflicts their 'Finisher' move, depending on what Finisher they choose will depend on what colour their 'Sashimono' will become. There are 3 different Sashimono Colours the BM can have and each colour include their own different property:
RED: Power
BLUE: Defense
GREEN: Healing
Underneath the BM's health bar are 3 grey gems (think DK's runes) that represent the Sashimono and it's current property. Once the BM inflicts their first Finisher move, one of the grey gems will become a certain colour depending on what Finisher was inflicted and the Sashimono will change to that specific colour. Here's a picture below (created by me in a very poor, unprofessional manner!) to clarify:
The BM can have up to 3 coloured Sashimono gems at any one time. The Sashimono will only change colour to reflect the
newest Sashimono gem gained, this can be see in the picture provided above where the left-most Sashimono gem is the most current one. If the BM has 3 Sashimono gems and executes another 'Finisher', then the oldest Sashimono gem will disappear to make room for a new one. If the BM has no Sashimono gems, the colour of their Sashimono will be grey.
What is the use of these Sashimono gems?
The gems directly influence all of the BM's Discipline Moves (Opener, Set-up and Finisher) as well as neutral skills/abilities. All Discipline moves will do their default action if the BM has no Sashimono gems - by changing the colour of their Sashimono, their moves will have an added effect depending on what colour their Sashimono is (typically Red Gems will make a move more 'powerful', Blue Gems will add a defensive effect and Green Gems will add healing properties). Lets take Cheap Shot as an example - without any Sashimono Gems the BM will use Cheap Shot and it will stun the opponent for 2 seconds. If the BM had 1 Red Sashimono Gem, the Cheap Shot would stun the target for 2 seconds and increase all damage against that opponent by 5% for the duration of the stun. If the BM had 1 Blue Sashimono Gem, the Cheap Shot would increase the time the target is stunned for by 1.5 seconds. If the BM had 1 Green Sashimono Gem, the Cheap Shot would stun the target for 2 seconds and reduce all healing done to the target by 15% for the duration of the stun. So, if the BM has 2 Red and 1 Blue Sashimono Gems and inflicts the target with Cheap Shot, the target will be stunned for 3.5 seconds and all damage against the opponent will increase by 10% for the duration of the stun. Please note, this is purely an example to showcase how Sashimono Gems affect combat; Cheap Shot was used purely as an example and is not necessarily an ability the BM has.
Certain moves aren't affected as linearly like the example above. Some Discipline moves will only have one added effect that does not increase cumulatively, so having multiple gems of the same colour will not have an increased effect and different colours may not stack. In this case, it's the
newest Sashimono Gem that takes priority (which will be the colour the BM's Sashimono changes to) and those certain Discipline moves will be affected by the prioritised Sashimono gem. These types of moves typically require two gems to work (for example, a certain Finisher may require two Red Gems for increased power, two Blue Gems for added defense or two Green Gems to convert damage into health for example). So to recap, each finisher produces a certain Sashimono coloured Gem and these Gems have a direct effect on moves/abilities/skills. The Sashimono Gems are affected in three different ways:
1.
No Consumption: Typically ALL Discipline moves do not consume the Gems. The BM simply requires having the Sashimono Gem in possession for the Discipline moves to be affected. Some neutral moves may only be activated if the BM has at least one or two coloured Gems in possession.
2.
Cooldown: Some neutral skills/abilities will induce a 6 second cooldown on the relevant Gem (akin to DK's Runes). During the cooldown period, the Gem will STILL affect ‘Discipline Moves’ - however, it cannot be used for neutral Skills/Abilities. Sashimono Gems affected by cooldown can still be replaced with fresh new Gems, if they happen to be the BM's oldest Gem in possession.
3.
Consumption: Some typically powerful neutral skills/abilities will consume the relevant Sashimono Gem if used. Powerful healing spells are often in the consumption category, requiring the BM to undergo the Opener => Set-up => Finisher cycle to gain a new Sashimono Gem (a consumption skill/ability will always consume the 'newest' gem).
Sashimono Gems are active as soon as they're created for 16 seconds before they disappear. Therefore a BM cannot simply run around with a full set of Sashimono Gems in or out of battle indefinitely. They can, however, be refreshed in battle using a certain Finisher...
Finisher Discipline
Each Finisher Discipline move will create a certain colour Sashimono Gem. Here's an example using existing skills/abilities not necessarily used by BM's.
Finisher 1. Eviscerate (Creates a Red Sashimono Gem)
Finisher 2. Execute (Creates a Blue Sashimono Gem)
Finisher 3. Expose Armor (Creates a Green Sashimono Gem)
Finisher 4. Slice n' Dice (Creates either a Red, Blue or Green Sashimono Gem randomly and refreshes all Gems in Possession)
So it is up to the BM as to what colour Sashimono Gem they would like. Depending on the battle or circumstance, the BM may need to be defensive and therefore having a majority of Blue gems may be the best way to handle the situation. In PvP, Red Gems will typically be the way for burst damage, however both Green and Blue would still be a necessity depending on the situation. Using the 4th finisher provides the BM with a random colour Sashimono Gem, which can seem risky however it's almost a necessary move to make in order to refresh your other Sashimono Gems if their 16 seconds are nearly up.
With the Sashimono System, Blizzard have been trying to create a class that, although inevitably comes with a standard rotation for PvE, is varied enough to keep the player interested. Since Sashimono Gems affect moves/skills/abilities in different ways, each round of rotation will produce something different and each rotation may require a different move to be made depending on what colour Gems the BM has in its possession.
Healing
As stated before, the healing system is something never seen in WoW before, and in the current stage it's
very experimental. Blizzard are very happy with the way their first experimental class has turned out (DK), and due to its successful nature, Blizzard are confident enough to gradually move into even more experimental territory.
If you've understood the Sashimono system thus far, you've probably already worked out where this is heading. Since the majority of all Healing spells at the BM's disposal require Sashimono gems, and since the only way the BM can require those gems is through an aggressive melee nature (the Discipline cycle), the BM will need to melee AND heal simultaneously. So, how is this done?
Mark of Focus
A unique ability the BM has is the 'Mark of Focus'. Upon placing the Mark on an enemy, as long as the BM is in melee range, the BM will be able to unleash all their 'Discipline Moves' onto the enemy without having to target them. The BM is completely free to target their comrades, in order to heal/buff. This means, the BM is free to execute their Discipline cycle onto an enemy inflicted with the Mark to gain Sashimono gems, and heal their comrades simultaneously. Only one target may be Marked at a time, and the Mark will disappear if the target goes out of combat.
The general consensus was that a Healer would never have an 'infinite' resource system (such as Energy, Runes and even the Sashimono system) and only Mana (or similar concepts) that would eventually 'run out' would be viable. The argument was that, an infinite system would imbalance the game, especially PvP where it would be possible to just infinitely heal through damage and/or turtle during the brief downtime. Blizzard feel that this 'infinite' conundrum does not apply with the Sashimono System. The BM is always forced to fight or be in the midst of battle to top-up it's resource, simply turtling or playing defensively would make it impossible to infinitely heal through damage since valuable Sashimono gems would not be accumulated in this manner. Although this may make it sound like the BM is
very susceptible to Kiting, there will always be a few tricks up the BM's sleeves to surpass this tactic (though that's not to say they're impossible to kite for short periods).
Healing Qi
BM healing spells are unlike regular heal spells or HoTs. All of the BM's heals are instant cast, but how it works is slightly different. The BM, being a melee class does not involve itself with casting bars. The way it works is the BM will instantly place a 'Healing Qi' (Qi = Chi) on their Target and after a certain amount of time (usually 2 - 3 seconds) the Qi will erupt and heal the target for its full amount (so it's sort of a cross between a HoT and a regular heal). Each Target may only have one Healing Qi on them at a time, so a BM cannot simply spam instant heals on the Target. The BM will have to wait until the particular Qi has erupted before they can place another on the same target. In PvP terms, since it's nigh on impossible to 'interrupt' the BM from healing (due to it's lack of cast bar), it's balanced so that the Healing Qi can be dispelled before it's erupt. Regular heals go into the "No Consumption" category of Sashimono gems, meaning the BM simply requires to possess the gem (usually green) but the more powerful heals will often induce a cooldown on the gem(s) or even consume them. Heals do not inflict GCD on 'Discipline Moves' and vice versa.
True Hybrid
Although homogenizing is something particularly current on Blizzard's agenda for the sake of balance, and the fact that keeping all Healers/DPS/Tanks relatively on par with one another is a current philosophy, it almost fails to apply for the BM class. The BM is the first true hybrid class, where it's not taking an either/or role, it takes two roles simultaneously. Due to the fact that the BM will add DPS to an encounter as well as Healing, there is no problem for the sake of balance for the BM to be a weaker at DPS'ing or Healing than other classes (a jack of all trade if you will) and that's solely due to the fact that the BM will be taking on two roles for the cost of only 1 raid member.
The way the BM class is designed is that if the player wants to go all out DPS and not bother will Healing, they simply need to stack up on Red Sashimono gems as well as a few Blue gems. If the BM wants to be on par with other healers, simply stacking up on Green gems (with a few blue) will make them a lot better with their heals. The system allows expert players well versed with the class to mix and match all three colours and bring out the best of both their DPS and Healing and become a valuable asset to the raid. It's a dynamic class.
Class Defining Abilities
Although most of the actual abilities (especially 'Discipline Moves') are currently unknown, a couple have come to light that really defines the class.
Wind Walk
For those who have played Warcraft 3, this is a cross between the Wind-Walk and Mirror Image abilities. Once cast, the BM becomes stealthed and gains an unstealthed mirror image copy of itself. Unlike the Rogue's Stealth, the BM keeps its movement speed at 100%. This subtle change to stealth actually creates a large difference between both the abilities. Unlike Rogue's stealth, the BM isn't completely hidden away from its enemies since the Mirror Image will always be an indicator as to the whereabouts of the BM.
The Mirror Image copy receives 200% damage from all sources, and once attacked will put the BM into combat. However, the BM will remain in stealth and will only come out if they attack or are attacked (or their Mirror Image hitpoint's are reduced to zero). This ability is actually more of an offensive one than defensive. It can almost be called an anti-Rogue ability, since it's sole purpose is to draw out the enemies. The Mirror Image will move along side the BM and can attack any target chosen by the player, however it will inflict no damage. The Mirror Image's purpose is to lure the enemy in and almost become a 'CD-Waster' where the enemy may burn all their Cooldowns on the Mirror Image (for example a Rogue may try to Stun Lock the Mirror Image, only to be in for one nasty surprise). Once the Mirror Image's Hitpoint fall to zero, the BM will come out of stealth. Wind-Walk cannot be used in combat.
Qi Bomb
This unique Healing spell is like a reverse 'Bomb' attack used by many bosses. Basically this Healing Qi attaches itself to a friendly target. After 3 seconds, the Qi erupts and explodes, healing the target and all party or raid members within 15 yards of the target for XXXX amount. This spell induces a 6 second Cooldown on 1 Green Sashimono Gem.
This can almost be called a team work spell, where its up to the raid member and not the healer to position themselves in the best manner in 3 seconds for the most efficient heal. Communication is key.
Heal
Instantly places a Healing Qi to the target that heals the target for XXX after 2 seconds. The spell does not require any Sashimono gems, however the spell will be inaccessible if the BM gains or is in possession of any type of gem. This is a spell that's predominantly used before or after a battle when the BM is not in possession of any type of Sashimono Gem. Although it uses up no resources, it's weakness is an indication that the player cannot rely on this spell alone.
Blade Incision
The enemy target is inflicted with Blade Incision, doing XXXX amount of damage and inflicting a debuff. 50% of all heals made on the target will heal the BM and party members within 15 yards of the target. The debuff will last for 8 seconds. Consumes one blue Sashimono gem.
Note: This is one of many Hero Classes Blizzard have already conceptualised. Out of the many, the Blademaster appears to be the one that has been fleshed out the most, however this is not a guaranteed indication that the Blademaster will be the next Hero Class for World of Warcraft. End.
Edit: Edited subject to reflect the fictive nature of the post. Grimlor
Yet another Timewalking loot post ( As directed by GM)
Opened timewalking Cache before hotfix
Boosting payments.
Did Blizzard just hotfix an ilvl requirement onto Awakened LFR?
MMO-Champion
Originally Posted by Saberoy
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